Alaska Family Nurse Practitioner Programs
Registered nurses in Alaska have the unique opportunity to further serve their community by becoming nurse practitioners. If you have a Bachelor’s degree in nursing and you’re ready to make an impact on your community, becoming a nurse practitioner could be the best career move for you. In Alaska, nurse practitioners have a considerable amount of freedom. As a nurse practitioner, you can diagnose and treat most illnesses without the oversight of a doctor. In addition, nurse practitioners in Alaska can prescribe medications, including controlled substances.
As the Affordable Care Act is implemented across the country, there are expected to be a great number of people looking for primary care providers. This may create a greater demand for nurse practitioners in Alaska. The median salary for a nurse practitioner in Alaska is $121,250, according to BLS (2017). The Bureau of Labor Statistics also predicts that FNP positions may grow by 31% through 2024 (BLS, 2017).
While attending a nurse practitioner school in Alaska, you may learn new information that can change how you work as a nurse. Since nurse practitioners do not need to collaborate with a physician in Alaska, you may be able to act as a leader in your health care facility and work closely with nurses.
To learn more about your options for study, request information from the schools on this page. We want to help you find the best Family Nurse Practitioner Program in Alaska, as we at BestNursingDegree believe an educated nurse is a powerful player in healthcare!
Family Nurse Practitioner Program Curriculum Alaska
Due to the sparsely populated layout of Alaska, nursing practitioner schools are few and far between. While this may hinder schooling, it reinforces the need for Family NPs in the state, as rural areas can benefit from the addition of primary care providers like FNPs. Attending an Alaskan program can prepare you to work with the state’s native population. This may make it easier for you to secure a nurse practitioner job in Alaska, or start your own nurse managed clinic.
The average length of a nurse practitioner program in Alaska is 1 1/2 to three years, or six to eight semesters. Most schools, including the University of Alaska-Anchorage, require you to take classes on a part-time basis. This may allow you to continue working as a nurse while you attend school, giving you valuable clinical skills and allowing you to earn money while you attend school.
In order to attend a family nurse practitioner program in Alaska, you must first earn a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing degree. Since these programs include classes in advanced statistics and research, you may have to demonstrate competence in statistics prior to being accepted to a program.
Classes involved in a family nurse practitioner program include Pharmacology for Primary Care, Advanced Pathophysiology, and Biostatistics for Health Professionals. As these courses require a considerable amount of studying and mathematics, you may want to prepare for your program by brushing up on statistics and learning about how they are used in health care. It is also important to set aside time each day for studying if you plan to start Family NP school.
You may be able to earn a scholarship to offset the cost of your nursing practitioner degree. The Alaska Nurse Practitioner’s Association awards annual scholarships to qualified students.
Working as a Family Nurse Practitioner in Alaska
Many nurse practitioners enjoy working in Alaska because of the freedom they enjoy. As a nurse practitioner, you may be able to diagnose and treat illnesses without the oversight of a physician. Prior to beginning work as a nursing practitioner, you must first be licensed by the Department of Corporations, Business, & Professional Licensing in Alaska. You have to be licensed as a registered nurse before you can become licensed as a nurse practitioner.
In order to have prescriptive privileges, you have to provide proof of 15 contact hours in pharmacology. You can ask your nursing advisor whether or not your coursework will allow you to apply for prescriptive privileges. After earning your initial license, you have to renew your license every two years. Both registered nurse licenses and nurse practitioner licenses expire on November 30 of even-numbered years. You must renew both your RN and nurse practitioner license.
You may have the choice of several different work environments while working as a nurse practitioner. Some choose to work in standard health care clinics; this can allow you to see the same patients for years at a time. Working in a walk-in or acute care clinic is slightly different, as you tend to only see patients for acute health issues. Nursing practitioner employers in Alaska include UHS, AES, and Southcentral Foundation.
